Increasing use of pre-processed foods in homes and restaurants and other group eating establishments has created a demand for high-capacity automated food processing equipment. That demand is particularly evident with respect to hamburgers, molded steaks, fish cakes, and other molded food patties.
To increase consumer appeal it is known to provide a patty-molding or patty-forming machine with a mold plate having contoured cavities to form a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty that is curved or otherwise irregular to simulate the shape of a food item, such as a chicken drumstick. It is also known to provide a patty-molding or patty-forming machine with a mold plate with contoured cavities to form a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty, and an overlying breather plate with contoured areas, to provide a two-dimensional horizontal profile patty that also has a contoured top surface. However, in this arrangement, the bottom of the mold plate is flat to be flush against the flat fill plate or support plate provided on the mold patty forming machine. The corresponding molded patty has a flat bottom.
It is also known to provide a molded patty with ridges formed in the patty along the longitudinal direction of movement of the mold plate, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,446. It is also known to provide a molded patty with a center groove along the longitudinal direction of movement of the mold plate for the purpose of breaking the finished patty along the groove. Such an arrangement is useful for portion control for animal food and animal medicine.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus that is capable of molding a food patty having one or more non-longitudinal depressions in at least the top surface of the patty.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus that is capable of molding a food patty, the patty having one or more grooves in a top surface thereof that are not arranged in a longitudinal machine direction.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing tooling for retrofitting a food patty-forming machine, wherein the tooling can provide for the molding of a food patty having one or more non-longitudinal depressions in at least the top surface of the patty.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a tooling for retrofitting a patty-forming machine, wherein the tooling can provide for the molding of a food patty, the patty having one or more grooves in a top surface thereof that are not arranged in a longitudinal machine direction.
The present inventors have recognized the desirability of providing a patty-forming apparatus or tooling that is capable of molding a food patty that has grooves facilitating breaking of the patty into three or more parts.